Prince Helped Launch Tech Initiative For Urban Youth

Van Jones says Prince worked behind the scenes to uplift young African-Americans.

Stories are surfacing about the Prince that only a few close friends knew. In one that’s getting attention, the organization #YesWeCode is paying tribute to the music legend for his quiet generosity:

“#YesWeCode would like to honor Prince and thank him for his inspired vision for #YesWeCode. Prince’s commitment to ensuring young people of color have a voice in the tech sector continues to impact the lives of future visionaries creating the tech of tomorrow.”

The mission of #YesWeCode is to connect 100,000 urban youth to technology jobs. Prince’s friend and lawyer Van Jones spoke on HNL’s Dr. Drew Show about the musician’s passion for uplifting African-American young people, while shunning the spotlight:

The L.A. Times recently reported Jones’ recollection of this conversation with Prince in 2014, which led to the launch of #YesWeCode:

“After the Trayvon Martin verdict, I was talking to Prince and he said, ‘You know, every time people see a young Black man wearing a hoodie, they think, he’s a thug. But if they see a young white guy wearing a hoodie they think, oh, that might be Mark Zuckerberg. That might be a dot-com billionaire.’”

Jones blamed racism, but Prince responded that the Black community has failed to create tech entrepreneurs like the Facebook CEO.